FORTRESS

Just the fact that Protest the Hero(PtH) finaly has gotten here makes me want to tag this as a five star, but I will try not to get carried away, because we are talking about the album after all.

Fortress is, all in all, a pretty damn solid performance from every member in the band. The musicmanship is top notch, all of these guys know their stuff and they all deliver something tasty to the record. PtH's sound is what really gets me going, it's just so damn powerful and full joy of playing. And I wish that all their albums lived up to the bands' potential. Sadly this is still not the case.

They've come a long way from Kezia, the overall sound is so much more solid and the melodies are even more catchy than before, the heavy's more heavy and it just has a more mature feel over it(if PtH are capable of ever being truly mature I am still not sure). But I find myself loosing interest after five or six songs, and that's where the problem lies. The album unleases a sonic onslaught onto you, and you either ride the wave or get crushed by... Or so it seems when Bloodmeat kicks off, but once I reach Spoils(Limb for Limb might revive you with the fantastic vocal opening, effect may vary) I'm thinking about pasta, birds and all sorts of things other than the music I'm hearing.

All in all I have to say this: I seriously LOVE PtH, I just wish they could make an album that was as good as the highlights on both Kezia and Fortress through and through.

3/5 stars(for the album, PtH is still a 5 star band)